Spacing mechanism for conveyers



June 16, 1942. F, R', COUMBE ETAL '2,286,603

SPACING MECHANISM FOR CONVEYERS OrAigndly Filed Oct. 29, 1938 2Sheets-Sheet l AT1 EYl Jur-1e 16, 1942. F, R CQUMBE ETAL 2,286,603sPAcING MECHANISM FOR coNvEYEBs originar Filed oct. 29, 193s 2sheetsheef 2 B* ffl/fm Peienied .lime 16, 1942 UNITED `s1T.1iTIEsPATENTQ'.. oFFIc-a 2,286,603 sPAcmG Mechanism roncoNvErEns Frederick R.Coux'nbe, Newark, Ohio, and V.lohn-7.

Romig, Itmnford, E. I., assignors, by mesnease signments, toOwens-Corningliberglas (lorpo- Ware ration,LToledo, Ohio, a corporationof DelavOriginal application October 29, 1938,'A Serial No. y 237,711.Divided and=this application Junev26,

1940, Serial No. 342,582 f iz'ci'eims. (ci. iss-a4) This invention brousmaterials and more particularly to mechanism adapted to handle suchmaterials as their' to thev handling of are formed and assist in formingthem into in v 'l sulating bats ofdesired conguration."

Fibrous insulating materials of various type are now commonly used inthe thermal insulation oi buildings and various other structures whose'temperature 'it is desired to control. Much of this insulation isapplied in the form of felted bats either with or without' externalcovering' sheets.' In general, these bats are formed by allowing acontinuous supply oi.' the basic fibres lto settle through theatmosphere onto a con-- tinuously moving belt forming a felted mass offibres thereon. The nbres may be of organic or mineral composition andeither "produced arti iiciailf.7 or obtained from natural sources.`Binders may besprayed onto the fibres as they collect to lend additionalstrength to the felted mass and the degree of felting obtained may beinuenced by drawing the bre laden atmosphere through the ioraminousconveyer by suitably located suction means. The sheet of felted'matei-iai thus formed is subsequently divided into sections of desiredsize which are generally known 'Y as bats.

Irl-certain handling operations connected with the 'manufacture ofinsulating bats, it 'has been found desirable to separate the bats bya-considerable space, one from another, as they are delivered from the`forming mechanism. In the case of very short bats of a length of a footor thereabouts, this may easily be accomplished by merely providingatake-ofi! conveyer driven at a higher speed than the conveyer on whichthey are formed. This arrangement is limited in its usefulness for withlonger bats several feet in length a stretching of the material occursbe` tween the two conveyers which results in a reduction of the productfrom the thickness as manufactured and in extreme cases even results intearing apart sectionsof the batf` The object of the present inventionis a device for handling a continuouslyvproduced mass of -flbrousmaterial of low strength to 'assist in forming such material intosections of appreciable length having a space of 'desired extentestablished between adjacent sections of the lmaterial after theirformation wthout subjecting these sections to undesirable stressesincident` to their production.

A further object of this invention isfa continuously operating `conveyerprovided with means for periodically lifting the conveyed ma- 56 timeduring whichv the material -is outoi con` tact with vthe conveyer.Specically, the inven tion'features a stationaryA support interposedbef-f7 tween portionsof the conveyer, fluid controlled means for raisingand ylowering saidfsupport and adjustable timing .means vcontrolledbythe rate of travel of the conveyerffordeterminingthe the support ismaintained in `raised length of time position. n

'I'heseand other featureswill bemorereadily apparent fromconsiderationof the embodiment 4 ofthe invention disclosed 'in detailinthe accom#v panying drawingsin which: Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic.elevationfoia fibre forming andvhandling mechanism incorporating thepresent invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective detail showing the mech. anism for interruptingforward movement of the felted brousmassiand:

- Fig. 3 is a'rdetailelevation'showing the nbre lifting rack andajpartoff'the operating mechanism in both raised and lowered positions;

Fig. 4 is` afsection .through thev overrunning clutchy and associatedpinion inthe drive mech-y Referring m hiere detente thestrueuire shown;in the drawings, Fig.' 1 indicates diagrammati` cally means forcontinuously' forming andad'- vancing a ielted blanket oflbrousmaterial'and means for intermittently severing and arresting`portions of this blanlrei'.. Any. type of fibres mayv be employed whichwillk felt together 'to' form' a' porous mass oflow thermal conductivityand f sumeient strength to permit handiing; 'secu as wood and asbestosbres,. hair,V mineral wooland the like,'but in the drawings .i0indicates vgener'k allyl a mechanism for producingglass woolof v thetype disclosedv in the British patent 4 to Triggs No. 428,720. Fibres soproduced are collected on the conveyer i2 ina continuousvfelt'ed massil' l whose :thickness -is ,determined by the rateof production of thefibres-the speed of the con-1 *V veyer belt and themanner inwhich theyclearly in Fig. 2. drum 26 which is mounted on a `driven shaft 28slightly higher rate of speed than conveyer I2.'

Conveyer I8 is formed of a number of narrow continuous belts 20 whichare supported in spaced relation by freely rotatable rollers 22.

These rollers 22 are provided with 'circumferential grooves 24 locatedbetween the' belt supporting sections of the roller as shown more Belts20 are1driven from a connected to a suitable sourceiof power, not shown.A flying shear type of cutter blade rep- `resenteddiagrammatically at 30is operatively 46 are retracted by operation of the piston 68, dog 80 israised by an inclined 'surface 86 on thrust block 18 compressing spring82 which resets the dog as the block 45 reaches its extreme rightposition of-travel. v

Motorv66 is operated by fluid under pressure from a suitable source 88by means of a control valve 90. This valve is of the conventional oatingpiston type and is actuated by reducing the pressure on one end orthe'other by the actuation vof'pilot valves opening to the atmosphere.As shownin Fig. 2, the right-hand end of control valve 90 is connectedby pipe 92 to a pilot valve 94 mounted onplate 60 in alignment with rack10. position of travel, it engages a. pivoted valve actuating lever 96which opens valve 84'to atmosphere mounted at Vthe discharge end of theconveyer I8 and is periodically'actuatediby'a regulable timingmechanism'of` ,standard make, not shown.

Coextensive withthe length'of conveyer I8 'and occupyingthe spacebetween the belts 20 is a lifting rackformed of a number 0i rods 32 ofangle iron or similanmaterial.v These rods are cutawayat'34 sofas to'tpfreely into the'grooves 24 inirollers 22 and'lie flush-with orslightly belowjthesurface of the belts 20; 'I'hese rods are jinterconnected witha'ndV` supported bya frame 36 and areraised'intooperative position by bell" l crank, levers "38 and 40.As-shown in detail v Fig. 2,`be11 Grank 3@ isker'yed t0 8l Shaft 2 whichis mounted for'rotationin. the frame 44 ofthe onveyer. A slide block 46mounted for'horizon tal movement alongasupport bai` 48v is connected toan arm 50 keyed yto the -end of shaft 42 by means of link 52. A stopblock 54 rigidly mounted on bar,48 limits movement of the slide block 46to the left while in its extreme vright position,y it `abuts the bracket56which with bracket T58.'

servesto attach slide bar48 to the support plate 60.r Bar 48 is.slidablymountedl in brackets 56 and 58 and its position with respectthereto` mayf be adjustably determined by screw 62 attached to i one endofthe bar and threaded into -the adthe length of the bat being vproducedand the I.

jacent bracket; Block 46 is normally urged to the force of a spring 64;

Movement of slide block 46 ,ard the'left tor 1 extreme right end ofritstravel by the weight of' actuate' 'the lifting mechanisml and raise thefibrous materialfrom contact withV conveyer I8 may be accomplished Vbymeans of va fluid motor` 66 fto whose piston rod 68 is attached a rackmember 10. This rack is 'slidably'su'pported atA its free end in abracket 12 and meshes witha gear 13 formingpart of anYover-runningclutch mechanism 'I4 mountedv for vrotation about `a studshaft 16.. The purpose offthis mechanism will subsequently be more fullydescribed. Power from the` iluid motor' 66 is transmitted to the slideblock 46 through a thrust blockA 18 mounted on' rack 10 which engagesthevend of a pivoteddog carried in `block 46 and normally held in alignmentwith block 'I8 by a spring 82. VAs the slide block `movesto the left; aninclined end' v84 'ofthe dog 88 engages Vthe stop 54 whereupon furthermovementof the block 46 resultsin the: release of the dog fromengagement with thrust block 18. On release of the dog, the slide blockvassembly is moved tothe right again under the influence of the spring'64 and theweight of the rack 82. When the rack 10 and thrust block...van ma l urged to the left by piston 68. Since rotation,

47o' of sprocket |08 -is vcontrolled by the mechanism thus reducingv thepressure on the right-hand end of valve and causing its floating pistonto move tothe right-under the influence of the pressure communicated toits left-hand end from line 88 through a p port in the piston.V Thismovement of the piston causes alignment ofl suitable ports sothat linepressure is applied tothe lefthand end of motor 66 and connects therighthand end to atmosphere thus causing movement of piston rod 68 totheright. A valve 98 in the exhaust pipe |00 permits throttling of theescapingiluid and control'of the rate of travel of the piston, if and asdesired. The left-hand end of control valve 90 is similarly providedwith a bleed line |02 connectedtoa relief valve |04 mounted Vforengagement by the shear mechanism 30 and a valved exhaustline |06 toatmosphere. Y

In operation, bres are continuously produced ,Y atl 0 and the speed ofthe conveyer I2 so regu-l lated as to ,give a felted body of libres I4of the I desiredvthickness. The. speed of conveyery I8 is then`regulated so asy to be enough faster than conveyer I2 to ,give thedesired spacing between' the separated bats. This speed is determined byspace desired. -Fo-r example, if bats ten feet long are being producedand a space of ten inches is desired between bats, conveyer I8 is soregulatedV as to travel ten feet and ten inches, while the conveyer I2travels ten feet. Actuation of the shear mechanism v30 is timed withrespect to the speed of theconveyer I8Ys'o as tocut the'felted mass offibres I4 intobats I5 of thedesired length. Y I Y As the shear mechanism30 acts to severa bat I5 from the felted mass of fibres I4, it opens thevalve |04 relieving pressure on the left-hand endy of valve 90 and.causing its piston to move to the left. vIn this position, the.left-hand end of motor 66 is connected to atmosphere 'through line |06and line pressure is applied to the righthand end forcing piston 68 andrack IIlto the left: A sprocket |08 is attached to one part of theoverrunning Iclutch mechanism 'I4 and is continuously driven throughchain vI I0'Vfrom a,V sprocket I`|21ixed on the end of the drum 26.

Initial movement of rack-10 to the left turns the gear with which itmesheszwhich in turnactuates the clutch mechanism 4positively connectingsaid gear tofsprocket |08 so long vas the rack |0.is

which drives conveyer I8, the clutch 'I4 restricts the rate ofadvance ofthe rack 'I0 to a constant predetermined speed in relation to thespeed'of the conveyerl I8. The initial movement of slide block 46 to theleft raises rack 32 suiliciently tov As the rack'reaches its extremeleft-hand l trol cylinder 90.

lift the felted mass of fibres I4 from contact with the conveyer I8 andarrest its forward movement. The subsequent travel of block 46 at aconstant speed controlledby sprocket |88 determines the period of timethe iibres are` out of contact with the conveyer and Ythus the extent oftravel of the severedV bat before the advance of bres |4 is continued,il e., the space between adjacent severed bats.

While accurate control of the space between bats is best obtained by useof the mechanism described above, a fairly accurate control may beexercised independent of the driving mechanism of the conveyer byregulation of the valves in the exhaust lines |08 and |06 leading fromcon- If these valves are properly throttled, they permit only a slowescape of air from behind the piston in motor 66 and so retard itstravel for a suicient period of time to give the desired separation ofthe bats.

During the period that the rack 32 is lifted and the felted fibres areout of contact with conveyer I8, the fibres being deposited on conveyerI2 are continuously advanced and accumulate as a loop of matted materialin the space between conveyers I2 and I8. The showing o f Fig. 1 is ofthe mechanism at the moment when the racks have restored the feltedmaterial I4 into contact with the conveyer I8, the loop of accumulatedmaterial appearing at I I4. The speeds of conveyers I2 and I8 are soproportioned that during the period that the material advances betweenoperations-of the shear mechanism 30 and the rack 32, the loop ofaccumulated material is eliminated and advanced onto conveyer I8. Thus,the loop of material I I4 accumulated while the mass I4 is supported onrack 32 never exceeds the length 'of the space between adjacent bats andnever becomes unwieldy.

This application is a division of our co-pending application SerialNumber 237,711, led October 29, 1938.

While the invention has been described in detail with respect to aparticular modication, it must be realized that this description is byway of illustration and not of limitation and modication andsubstitution is to be expected within the scope of the presentinvention.

What we claim is:

1. In a conveyer mechanism, a continuously driven conveyer belt, meansassociated with said belt adapted to lift the material supportedtheredriving said` belts, a series of .horizontal members positionedbetween `saidbelts and substantially i in the plane of their materialsupporting run, means for raising said members above the plane of saidbelts' comprisinga releasably actuated l slide block and adjustablemeans, for1imiting the extent of movement of saidslide block.

5. In a conveyerv mechanism, avseries of parallel, endless conveyerbelts, means for continuously driving said belts, a 'seriesof horizontalmembers" n positioned between said belts and substantially in the planeof their material supporting run,

means for raising said members above the plane l of said beltscomprising a movable rack, a gear meshing with said rack and `releasablemeans for interconnecting said gear and said belt driv-f ing means,whereby the speed of movement of f said rack is proportional tothe beltspeed in at least onedirection of its travel.

6. In a conveyer mechanism, a series of parallel, endless conveyerbelts, means forcontinuously driving said belts, a series of horizontalmem- '7. In a conveyer mechanism, a series o! parallel, endless conveyerbelts, means for continuously driving said belts, a series of supportmembers` positioned between said belts and slightly'below the plane oftheir material supporting run, means for raising said members above saidplane, means controlled bythe speed of movement ci said conveyer beltsfor determining the yperiod of time said supports are above the conveyorbelts, said on from said belt and restore it thereto, and

adjustable means for varying the length of the period of time thematerial is out of contact with said belt.

A2. In a conveyermechanism, a continuously Adriven conveyer belt, meansassociated with said belt adapted to lift the material supported thereonfrom said belt and restore it thereto, and means associated with thedriving mechanism of said conveyer for determining the period of timethe material is out of contact therewith and separate means for varyingsaid period. e

3. In a lconveyer mechanism, a series of parallel, endless conveyerbelts, means for continuously driving said belts, a series ofvhorizontal members positioned between said belts and substantially inthe plane of their material supporting run, means for raising saidmembers above the plane of said belts comprising a tluid actuatedpiston, and

means for controlling the rate of travel of said means being adjustableto limit said time period y without variation of said conveyor speed.

8. In a conveyer mechanism, a series of parallel, endless conveyorbelts, means for continuously` driving said belts, a series of supportmembers positioned between said belts and slightly below the plane oftheir material supporting run, means for raising said membersabove saidplane, means connected with the driving means of said conveyer forcontrolling the rate of rise'of said supports and means for releasingsaid supports from said control means and returning them to initial sposition after a predetermined amount of movement. A 1

9. In a conveyer mechanism, a series of parallel, endless conveyerbelts, means for continuouslyy driving said belts, a series of supportmembers positioned between said belts and slightly below the plane oftheir material supporting run, means 4for raising said members abovesaid plane, means for rendering the rate of rise of said supportsproportional to thespeed ofsaid conveyor belts and separate means fordetermining the extent of said rise.

u l0. Ina conveyer mechanism, a series of parallel,; endless conveyerbelts, means for continuously: vdrivirigrisad belts, a series of supportmembers positioned between said belts and'slightly below the plane oftheir material supporting run,

means for raising said members above said plane, '7, means forregulating the rate of rise of said supf vports and separate means forlimiting vthe extent of saidrise. v-

11. In a conveyer mechanism, a series of paral-a lel, endless conveyerbelts, means for continuously driving said belts, a sexies of horizontalmembers positioned between said belts and sbstantially in the plane oi'their material supporting run, means for raising said members `above thepleine of said belts comprising" a'. iiui'd :actuated piston, andymeansfor controlling the rate oftravel oi said 5 piston, saidmeansfbeing connected ith said conveyer driving mechanism.

12. In a conveyer mechanism-a series ot parallel, endless oonveyerbelts, meansior continuously driving said belts, a. series of horizontalmem- 10 bers positioned between said belts and substantially in theplane ol.' their material supporting run, means for raising said membersabove the plane of said belts`comprisinga iiuid actuated piston, vandmeans` for controlling the rate oi!` travel of said piston; said meanscomprising throttling controls associated with `said piston.

FREDERICK R. COUMBE. JOHN W. ROMIG.

